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An explosion in the number of tigers in the country has impacted the once tranquil farmlands of Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts in Karnataka. The region has reported an increase in human-wildlife conflicts in the region, with five deaths in the last three months.
A 54-year-old tribal man named Basava was killed in a tiger attack on December 10, 2023 in Adina Kanive village at the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Gundlupet taluk, Chamarajanagar district. Basava ventured into the forest to fetch fodder for his goats.
The incident happened on the heels of another death due to a tiger — a 52-year-old woman in Ballurhundi village in Nanjanagudu taluk was killed on November 24, 2023, triggering protests by villagers. Following a severe protest by villagers, forest officials launched an operation to catch the tiger and managed to catch it after three days.
Another death was reported early in November this year. A 42-year-old farmer was killed by a tiger while working in his fields in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Forest officials said the incident happened on November 8 in Saraguru taluk, Chamarajanagar district’s Moleyur range forest. The victim was identified as Balaji Nayka, former Gram Panchayat member from Kadabeguru village under B Matakere Gram Panchayat.
On December 8, 2023, the carcasses of an adult tiger and a cub were found in a decomposed state on an empty plot near the border of Melur-Terakanambi villages, Gundlupet and Chamarajanagar taluk in Chamarajanagar.The spot where the bodies were found is 21 kilometres (km) away from the border of Biligiri Ranganatha Swamy Temple Tiger Reserve and 200 metres from the border of Terakanambi village of Gundlupet taluk.
A tiger captured by forest officials in Bandipur Tiger Reserve on November 28, 2023. Photo by special arrangement
According to forest officials, the tigers died from fighting, but villagers suspect poisoning. Farmers may have placed posioned chicken as bait to keep the wild cats from attacking humans, they said. However, autopsy reports have confirmed death by fighting.
The escalating tiger-human conflict has left a trail of deaths. The conflict is not only restricted to humans; big cats devour many livestock and dogs every month.
Mari Swamy, a small farmer in Ballur Hundi village in Nanjanagud taluk in Mysuru district, told this reporter that farmers living near forests now fear for their lives. “They are afraid to go into the fields late at night or early in the morning, but it is unavoidable for them as they need to guard their fields to protect crops from wild animals,” Swamy said.
Tigers kill humans, while elephants and wild boars destroy lakhs of rupee crops in a single night, he claimed. If a farmer loses a crop worth Rs 10,000, the forest department pays a pittance after months of wandering from post to pillar.
Bandipur Tiger Reserve Field Director A B Ramesh Kumar told this reporter that the recent increase in tiger and leopard populations, as well as the shrinking of forest area, has caused conflict. “Normally, tigers do not attack humans, but when they reach the age of 10, they attack humans as they are easy prey. A tiger can live for up to 15 years and is unable to hunt after it ages, so the wild cats attack cows and humans,” Kumar said.
Everyone should work together to grow forests, which is the only solution to the current situation, he added.
As per the tiger census data of 2022 conducted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) Madhya Pradesh has the maximum number (785) of tigers in the country, with a 50 per cent increase in the last four years, followed by Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560) and Maharashtra (444).
Karnataka has five tiger reserves: Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, Biligiri Ranganatha Tiger Reserve, Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Bhadra Tiger Reserve and Kali Tiger Reserve. The first three reserves are in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts.
Two years ago, the forest department planned to create another tiger reserve in Chamarajanagar district, namely Malai Mahadeshwara Hills (MM Hills) Tiger Reserve. Though the central government gave the nod for declaring it, the state government held the process, following stiff opposition from tribal communities and villagers.
According to forest department sources, there are 25-30 tigers in Malai Mahadeshwara Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, spread across 906.18 square km. The district has famous Bandipur and Biligiri Ranganatha tiger reserves and the MM Hills tiger reserve would be the third in Chamarajanagar and sixth in the state.
If MM Hills Tiger Reserve is created, Chamarajanagar would be the first district in the country to have three tiger reserves.
The escalating animal-human conflict in the Mysuru region worries wildlife lovers and environmentalists. Former forest officer and environmentalist from Kodagu district KM Chinnappa told this reporter that humans interference in forests causes conflict.
“The wildlife and forest should be left as they are. But humans are entering forests, encroaching causing the shrinking of forests day by day. If a tiger kills a human, we cannot blame it since we are the reason for such a situation,” he added.
On December 15, 2023, Hanur former Member of the Legislative Assembly R Narendra told this reporter that if the MM Hills sanctuary is formed, it will cause severe problems for devotees of the Male Mahadeshwara Swamy temple and other forest residents.
The temple has a high income, he pointed out, adding there are 56 tribal colonies and 15,000 tribal people live in the forest.
“Basic facilities for the poor in the forest have not been adequately provided." There could be 12 or 13 tigers in the sanctuary. The lives of 15,000 tribal people should not be made miserable in order to protect them. If the region is designated as a tiger reserve, the poor will be denied access to drinking water, roads, sewerage, and electricity because officials are opposed to basic infrastructure near forests because it would destroy them,” Narendra said.
The Karnataka state government in June 2023 formed an elephant task force in Kolar, Tumakuru, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Mysuru, Chamrajnagar and Kodagu districts to reduce the wild elephant menace.
The government appointed 50 temporary workers and provided vehicles to reduce human-elephant conflict in each district. These officials will submit their field reports to the principal chief conservator of forests for wildlife (PCCF). Based on the field reports, the PCCF will prepare a comprehensive plan at the state level and submit it to the government.
The department also formed leopard task forces in many districts, including Mysuru, similar to the elephant task force.
On November 29, 2023, forest officials in Mysuru launched an operation to track a tiger after it was spotted in security cameras on the premises of the TVS factory. Since then, the team has not spotted the big cat.
On December 14, 2023, forest officials issued instructions to residents following the sighting of a tiger in Dadadahalli, Mysuru taluk. The officials have also launched an operation to track the tiger, which is still ongoing. The villagers are pleading with the government to find a permanent solution to the elephant, tiger and leopard conflicts.
Meanwhile, it is not known whether a tiger task force will be formed in Chamarajanagar and Mysuru districts.